Frith (1996 p. 91-93) also cites Fabbri’s genre rules. These are rules that can be used to help define what genre a piece of music belongs to by looking at the various aspects of the genre.

“Formal and Technical rules” looks at how the music is played and the instrumentation used, what level of skill is required to perform it, and the musical structure of the music.

“Semiotic rules” are concerned with the way a genre communicates, the roll a singer plays in the music, what type of meaning is conveyed and how this is achieved. These rules form the bases of the dialogue between artist and consumer.

“Behavioral rules” determine the way an artist is represented to the consumer. From the way the artist acts on stage and the way the fans react to the performance to the way an artist appears in a promotional photograph, behavioral aspects of the artist are communicated to the consumer.

“Social and Ideological rules” emphasise the values of the artist. They govern what it is that the artist is supposed to stand for and the values associated with the genre. “It’s better to bun out that to fade away” *heavier that heaven?* attitude of grunge is an example of this.

“Commercial and Juridical rules” govern how a genre acts with respect to the music industry - how an artist distributes work to consumers, the rate of return the artist receives for this, and the extent of this remuneration (and by whom it is paid) are all governed by this aspect of the genre. This rule forms a key part of the conceptual framework for the following primary research as these factors will determine to what extent artists and fans of 8bit will tolerate commercial exploitation.